Four bodies recovered after Nepal’s Himlung avalanche; 12 remain missing

Rescuers had recovered four bodies after an avalanche on Himlung Himal in Nepal by Monday afternoon, according to the Nepal National Mountain Guide Association as reported by the Kathmandu Post. Twelve high-altitude workers and guides were still missing. The avalanche struck on Sunday in the Manang district, on a 7,126-metre peak in north-central Nepal.

The association said two bodies were recovered on Sunday and another two on Monday. A team of mountain guides was searching the affected area, with its ability to continue dependent on weather and conditions on the mountain. The missing people had been working in the Himlung area ahead of the climbing season, according to the Kathmandu Post.

An earlier Associated Press report said two people had died and 12 were missing, citing a district official. It also reported that ten people had been brought down alive by helicopter. The later figure of four recovered bodies comes from the guides' association; it is an update to the initial account, not a separate avalanche. The search remained under way when that update was published, so the number of missing people and the confirmed toll may change.